Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark

Fear Of The Dark is the ninth studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, originally released in May 1992 via EMI Records.

While 1992's Fear Of The Dark was definitely more of a return to form for Iron Maiden, it still wasn't quite on par with their exceptional work from the 1980s. Easily an improvement over 1990's lacklustre No Prayer For The Dying (both musically and sonically), the album debuted on the U.K. charts at number one.

The opening "Be Quick Or Be Dead" proved Maiden could easily hold their own with younger thrash metal bands, "From Here To Eternity" contained lyrics that seem better fitted for Mötley Crüe, while the expected epic album-closing title track “Fear Of The Dark” would become a concert staple (all three tracks were released as U.K. singles).

The serene "Wasting Love" proves to be one of Maiden's better ballads of the '90s, while the rockers "Fear Is The Key" and "Afraid To Shoot Strangers" are also standouts.

Fear Of The Dark would be singer Bruce Dickinson's final studio album with the band (until their late-1990s reunion), as he publicly voiced that he felt the band had run its course.

This double album 2LP record set is a 2017 reissue on 180 gram black vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve with remastered audio, pressed in Europe via Parlophone Records.